THE SPIRIT OF ’76: Descendent of General Anthony Wayne checks out Stony Point battlefield where he earned glory

Anthony Wayne descendant Laura Arnett Smith with portrait of her famous relative

Stony Point’s contribution to the American Revolution cannot be understated, and the town welcomed a member of the seventh generation of Brigadier General Anthony Wayne’s family, Laura Arnett Smith, a maternal fifth great-granddaughter of the Wayne family.

Arnett-Smith was welcomed to Town Hall by Supervisor Jim Monaghan and escorted to the Stony Point Battlefield and museum, where she gathered more information on the American Revolutionary hero who fought alongside George Washington to keep the British from landing along the shores of the Hudson River.

Arnett-Smith, a genealogy teacher from Tennessee, has been tracing her family tree through Ancestry.com and also gives instruction on DNA testing. “It’s unbelievable to be here,” said Wayne’s kin, “and to visit this historic site and to see West Point…it’s been on my agenda for many years, and my husband Jeff and I finally made the trip.”

Arnett-Smith’s next stop before returning to Tennessee was to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, where more of her distinguished ancestor’s battles were fought under the command of General Washington.